Family Ties

With all the turmoil flying around, Raylan was ecstatic when Cade called him and said he was on his way up for a few days. He had managed to score some leave and wanted to meet his nephew. The two men kept it a secret so when there was a knock at the door one evening Raylan sent Nate to open it, grateful for the upcoming distraction.

Cade stood quietly wondering what he should say or do. It had been so long ago that he had seen Nate, who would in no way remember him. He and Nadine had been so close when they were growing up, they often spoke in hushed tones about their escape from Harlan county. After boot camp and his advanced individual training he had spoken to Nadine about coming to Arizona where he was stationed, but their mother was sick at the time and she refused to leave her. By the time the opportunity came up again she had fallen head over heels with a US deputy marshal.

Suddenly the door opened revealing shortened version of Raylan with dabs of Nadine. His pictures hadn't done the boy justice. His eyes held a life all their own, of stories past and present, of a life full of hardship and mystery. This boy in the slight body with thick brown hair and the festive eyes took one second to realize who the man was standing awkwardly at the front door.

"You came," Nate squealed with delight. "I knew you would."

"I have tried and tried, but sometimes Uncle Sam doesn't care."

Nate stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the soldier. Cade smiled and reciprocated, thrilled that the boy had so readily accepted him. They eventually parted and Cade looked up to see Raylan extending his hand with a broad smile on his face. "Great to see you," he said welcoming him inside.

"Nice place," he said setting down his bag and looking around.

"No palace but it will do," Raylan said. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Soda is fine or whatever you have." Nate raced off and came back with a coke all while smiling at his uncle.

They spent the remainder of the evening talking about school, the Army, patrols, IED's and how long it had been since they had seen each other. Cade recalled waving goodbye to the toddler, but to Nate it was naturally all a blank. It was after ten when Raylan had to order the tired boy to bed. It was more the fatigue that persuaded him to bed rather than his father, but he finally complied after Cade assured him that he would be on the couch in the morning.

"I see a lot of Nadine in there," Cade said now nursing a beer.

"Oh yeah, yet I get the blame for it all," Raylan said causing Cade to laugh.

"I'm sure you do. She was fiercely independent and that is what scared our father so much. What he feared eventually came true."

"The two of you leaving?

"Yeah, he was able to let me go, but Nadie was a different story." He said using his sister's nickname. "He wanted to keep her close," he said looking into the distance. "She always had a crush on you, from that first baseball game she saw you at. She was so excited to work the concession stand that day. She had just turned fourteen and she looked up to see you standing there in all your baseball glory."

Raylan smiled. "She was cute, but I was a bit too old for her and that Campbell name was well known, and nothing I wanted to deal with. She was persistent though."

"You became her hero when you took Dickie Bennett's knee out. He had bothered her all year long, not wanting to take no for an answer, so when you sent him reeling that day, he forgot all about her. It wasn't long after that I found her notebook with your name scribbled all over it."

Raylan's eyebrows danced for a moment. "I did think of her often as well."

"Then one day, long after I'm gone I get this call that she has fallen in love, but not to worry because he's a marshal and will take her far away from holler life. It took two more phone calls before I could wedge your name out of her."

"And I'm sure you were disappointed," Raylan answered.

"Not in you, I always liked you. We had things in common, like shitty childhoods and criminal parents, but I just wanted more for her. I wanted somebody with no ties and no roots to the hills to sweep her off her feet and far away."

"I tried Cade, I really did. I took every assignment I could to get the promotions I needed to get away from here and in the end that seemed to be the problem."

"She missed you so much when you were gone. She knew what you were doing and why, but she was never patient. Once she got pregnant the timeline was no longer in her control. You were so often on the perimeter and Nate was vulnerable."

"What happened, tell me what happened the day she left?" Raylan begged as he sat straight up.

"First let me tell you, she loved you very much and really wanted it all to work out, but…"

"But what? She would never tell me what happened, not even years later. I wanted to believe something precipitated her departure, but eventually I just blamed myself."

"Well you know how she insisted on having a job, her own place in this world right?" Raylan nodded. He had told her they could make it on his salary but Nadine wanted her own income, to make her own way in the world. "She went to pick Nate up from daycare one day and he wasn't there. The one worker said a man had picked him up. She hoped beyond hope that you had gotten back into town and picked him up, but she knew you would have called and told her. Another worker insisted that she had called and given permission for her father to pick Nate up."

"But of course she hadn't."

"Right, he probably threatened her within an inch of her life so she would comply. Anyway she flew down to Harlan and there he was in the living room with Nate on his lap. Raylan, he wouldn't give him up to her, even when Nate began to scream for her. He told her that her place was with her family, he said that it was bad enough that I had left, that it was her duty to make up for my departure. Raylan you have no idea how much that killed me to hear."

"I'm sure it was tough."

"She told him it was fine, she and Nate would move back to Harlan that she would leave you claiming you just weren't around enough." Raylan's body felt a stab of guilt causing his face to contort ever so slightly. "But she said it was only fair for her to give two weeks' notice to her employer, that otherwise it would look fishy. He agreed so she spent the two weeks by herself in your apartment making her getaway plans. She had been forced to leave Nate in Harlan."

"He was the collateral?"

"Yes, he was the insurance that she wouldn't leave. That first weekend back she convinced him to let her take Nate to the store and pick up some items so she could fix an old fashioned weekend meal for everybody. She had him fooled, or his eyes and ears outside the compound let him down."

"And she left," Raylan said sighing.

"That she did, never looked back again. Unfortunately it meant leaving you too, and she hated that fact. She missed you so much when you were on the road."

"I hated being gone, but it was the quickest way to move up in the ranks. I would finish tracking one fugitive down and they would send me out on another. I was afraid if I said no, we would be stuck in Kentucky forever. And look where I am now." He sighed in defeat and the cruelty of it all.

"Yeah, your turn, you killed that guy in Miami out of vengeance didn't you?"

"He drew first, I just wanted him out of town, away from my son and he wouldn't do it."

"Was he the shooter?"

"According to witnesses yes, but those same onlookers all refused to testify so I needed to take matters into my own hand."

"And that's the hand that shot him." Cade stated.

"Yes it was. And now I brought Nate back to the same mess she risked everything to get him away from. Do you think they know we're back?" Raylan asked speaking of Cade's and Nadine's family.

"Oh yeah, they know. But they aren't going to mess with an experienced marshal with an itchy trigger finger. Believe me they don't want you nosing anywhere around them."

"Still in business then?"

"Oh yeah. One thing we both learned after we left…"

"What?" Raylan asked.

"There's no easy way to be free."

The days flew by with Nate missing two days of school in order to bond with his uncle. They got along great and it thrilled Raylan to see them together. Other than Nadine, Cade was the only other one of the family to leave the area. They had shared much more than the same birthday, they had shared the dream of being far from the home in which they had been raised.

Cade's visit had been a great distraction for all involved but unfortunately the world didn't stop revolving and the criminals didn't stop their activities either. Things were heating up in Harlan and it was once again time to focus on the chaos at hand. So as hard as it was to say goodbye, it was time to get back to life.

The last morning of the visit was hectic as Cade finished packing up while Raylan and Nate prepared for their day. They all were in the driveway, Nate trying not to be too sad as his uncle tossed his bag into the backseat of the car.

"I'm so glad you came," Nate said. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too kiddo, maybe next time you can come visit me. I can give you tour of the base."

"That would be awesome…oh I forgot something, don't leave yet," Nate said spinning around jogging back to the house.

"Guess you're stuck for a few more minutes." Raylan said with an awkward smile.

"Not a problem," Cade said looking towards the front door. "Raylan," he began with enough hesitation to get the marshals attention.

"What's up?" Raylan asked.

"She wasn't just protecting Nate by leaving," he blurted out.

"What do you mean?"

"Part of her leaving was to protect you as well. The old man told her that if she didn't break it off…he'd kill you. Said he couldn't take the risk of any kind of link to a federal marshal and that she had better break that tie or he would." Raylan just stood still, staring off into the distance. "I wasn't sure if I should tell you, but you needed to know."

Before Raylan could respond or even digest what he had just heard Nate came charging back outside waving a picture frame around. "Dad printed this out at work," he said handing a framed picture of Cade and Nate at a local horse park they had visited days earlier.

"Awesome dude, I have the perfect spot for it too. I'll e-mail you when I get back. Take care of yourself."

"I will," Nate said smiling. He leaned in and hugged his uncle. "I'll miss you."

"And I you. Raylan thank you for the hospitality."

"Anytime Cade, you are welcome back whenever you can get away."

"I'll remember that," he nodded.

"Thanks for everything," Raylan added.

"Just keep what I said in mind."

"I will," Raylan said stepping away from the car.

The final waves were given and Nate watched the car disappear around the corner. "What are you supposed to keep in mind?" he asked.

"Just grown-up crap, nothing that would interest you. Hurry up and get your stuff, we need to leave in three minutes or you'll be late."

As Nate ambled off to gather his belongings Raylan stared off down the road and rehashed all that he had found out the last few days and none of it settled well. He had always had suspicions but hearing it as fact was still troubling nonetheless.